Balda Baldarette (1938)
Overview
The Balda Baldarette was made in 1938 by BALDA WERK of Dresden under Max Baldeweg. It is a compact folding bed camera for rollfilm in the 5x8cm format. Demand was growing for portable medium format cameras that could still do the job, and the Baldarette was a modest entry in Balda's line of folding cameras.
The lens is fixed-focus. There is no focusing adjustment, so the user relies on depth of field and estimation. That suggests it was aimed at casual photographers who wanted simplicity over precision. The film spool holder is sheet metal with perforated holes, an unusual detail that may have saved weight and made it cheaper to build. It looks intentional, but nobody has documented how well it holds up under repeated use.
The Baldarette shipped with at least one of several lenses, depending on configuration. The primary lens listed in manufacturer documentation is the Prima Anastigmat 1:4.5 F=105mm, a standard for the format at the time. Other versions have turned up with an 85mm Anastigmat Photar f/6.3 and an Aplanet 85mm f/8. Balda may have used whatever optics were available across production runs, or offered several variants. No official records outline the configuration options, so collectors trying to verify originality have little to go on.
Key operational details are missing. Shutter speeds, aperture range and viewfinder type are absent from all surviving documentation, so exposure flexibility and usability in varied lighting are hard to judge. Nothing says how film advance worked, whether by knob, lever or red window. There are also no known issues with film transport or light leaks over time.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | BALDA WERK, Max Baldeweg, Dresden |
| Product type | Laufbodenkameras (folding bed camera) |
| Production years | 1938 |
| Film format | Rollfilm 5x8 cm |
| Lens | Prima Anastigmat 1:4,5 F=105mm |
| Lens | 6.3/85mm Anastigmat Photar |
| Lens (alternate model) | Aplanet 85 mm f/8 |
| Fokussierung | Fest (fixed focus) |
| Design detail | Film spool holder features a specific design with holes in the sheet metal |
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